Emerald Fire
by Shadoweyes of Thunderclan
Summary: A new threat falls on Shuggazoom. The good news, it has nothing to do with the Skeleton King. The bad news, it's over 150 feet long and breathes fire.
1. Prologue: The Sentinels

**Prologue: The Sentinels**

A rare forest stood in the Zone of Wasted Years, a place that drank from the calm spring that trikled between the trunks of ancient trees. These trees were old, they had seen the rise of Shuggazoom city and watched it fall into the greedy eyes of the Skeleton King. They watched the robot monkeys rise to the challenge and fight back, they had seen Mandarin fall and saw Chiro rise. They stood, these silent sentinels, staring out over the city that spoke of their hopes and dreams

They watched as the great dragon descended from the Lost Mountains.

They watched as the dragon made its nest and settled down.

They watched as the dragon looked out towards the city and roared.

These sentinels stood with their roots buried in the ground and watched the dragon rise, a stone left in the nest.

The trees watched without care as the dragon descended on the city and attacked remorselessly.


	2. Chapter 1: Attack!

**Chapter 1: Attack!**

Sprx was flying in his red Fist-Rocket, he darted through the arrow like a brilliant red comet burning in the sky. He could think of nothing more exhilarating than flying and the rush it gave. Nothing was more exciting than flying through the air at breakneck speeds, every moment an inch away from a fiery explosion. He was so intent on his flying that he didn't notice a glimmer in the sky, a glimmer that grew larger and larger.

An enormous gust of wind nearly blew the Fist-Rocket into a nearby building. Narrowly missing an ironic death, Sprx looked around to see if there were any freak weather patterns that he missed. Sprx nearly crashed anyway, having fallen over when he saw the origin of the hurricane wind.

A massive dragon was flying towards Shuggazoom City, its scales the color of ice. Its wings drew it steadily closer and closer, the already deadly winds becoming even more ferocious. Sprx, struggling to keep control of his Rocket, landed to avoid getting blasted out of the sky.

As the dragon grew ever closer, Sprx saw the dragon growing ever larger. _No,_ Sprx thought, _it can't be! Something that big just_ can't _exist!_ Yet even as he realized this, the dragon reached Shuggazoom.

The dragon was large enough to carry the Super Robot in its clawed foot, the brilliant blue eyes rivaled the Torso-Tank in size. The tearing claws could rend apart even the largest buildings. The dragon's fangs were as long as a tree was tall, and the spikes on its back were as long as Gibson's speeches whenever Sprx messed around in his lab.

"Sprx!"

"Sprx!"

Sprx was jolted out of his amazement when he heard Chiro calling him over his communicator.

"Chiro!" Sprx responded, "Are you seeing this?"

"Yes," he said, "Get back here ASAP! We need to take care of this."

Sprx broke off communications and made his way back to the Fist-Rocket. _The kid's nuts if he thinks I can fly through this!_ Sprx started up the rocket and attempted to take off. The dragon turned its ludicrously-sized eyes towards the tiny ship and swatted it out of the sky.

* * *

Antauri saw the Fist-Rocket go down, spiraling towards the ground. The Fist-Rocket landed roughly, but intact. And to his horror, he saw the dragon turn on it and breathe fire. The emerald-green flames engulfed Sprx's Fist-Rocket and licked at the ground. Antauri could not believe his eyes as he watched the Fist-Rocket burn.

Antauri heard Chiro shout for everyone to get into their battle stations, and he made a mad dash to his Brain Scrambler-Pilot.

"Antauri, you and Gibson get Sprx. The rest of us will distract the dragon." Chiro called over his communicator. "Good-luck."

The Super Robot separated into its vehicles as the team made their way to the dragon, still mercilessly burning Sprx's ship.

Antauri and Gibson veered away from the others as Nova began pounding at the dragon's foot. The dragon's fire cut off as it turned its head towards the others. Antauri took the opportunity to fly down to Sprx's Rocket with Gibson close behind. The Fist-Rocket was still burning and Sprx needed help.

Gibson took out his drills and sprayed water on Sprx's Fist-Rocket. Antauri used his Power Primate to locate exactly where Sprx was in the wreck and directed Gibson's drills to where they needed to go to allow a fast path to Sprx.

A rage-filled roar caused them both to turn, the dragon stopped chasing the others and began attacking the city. Otto jumped out of his Foot Crusher-Cruiser and used his saws on the dragon's scales. The saws did not break through to the dragon's flesh, but it did begin chasing Otto, who leaped back into his Foot Crusher-Cruiser and began working with Nova and Chiro to lead the dragon out of the city.

Antauri and Gibson turned their heads away from the spectacle and continued dampening the fire.

"Antauri the fire has been pushed back! Get Sprx out of there!" Gibson reported.

Antauri raced inside the Fist-Rocket while Gibson continued to harass the flames. Antauri pulled Sprx out of the cockpit and carried him outside. Gibson looked at Sprx with concern in his gaze while he quenched the last of the fire.

"Antauri! Gibson! How did it go?" Chiro's called over the communicator.

"The fire is out, but Sprx is badly hurt." Antauri explained, "How did things fare with you?"

"We are all okay, the dragon followed us to the Zone of Wasted Years and then disappeared." Chiro replied, "Is it anywhere near the city?"

Antauri and Gibson looked up, the skies were quiet and clear except for the leftover smoke from Sprx's Fist-Rocket. "No sign of it here." Gibson reported, "All is rather quiet."

"Let's rendezvous back where the Super Robot should be." Chiro commanded, "Then bring Sprx to the med-bay."

"Understood." Antauri said, then cut off communications. He looked at Sprx, who bore a broken leg and several second and third-degree burns. He carried Sprx over to his Brain Scrambler and flew back to wait for the others, Gibson close behind.


	3. Chapter 2: Silent Fire

**Chapter 2: Silent Fire**

It didn't take long for Chiro and the others to return and reconnect their vehicles to reform the Super Robot. Chiro immediately dashed to the medical bay, where he saw Antauri and Gibson bandaging Sprx's burns and setting his leg. Nova and Otto raced in behind him.

"Is he going to be okay?" Nova asked.

"He has suffered major burns and a broken leg." Gibson answered matter-of-factly, "In a crash that bad, he's lucky to be alive. And I expect him to make a full recovery." Gibson paused before continuing, "That is, if he doesn't have a concussion. We were going to check after we finished with his burns and his leg."

Chiro felt a twinge of pity as he saw Sprx's unconscious form. He did not want to think about how near Sprx came to death at the hands of that dragon.

"Gibson? Do you have any idea where the dragon came from?" Asked Chiro.

"Unfortunately, no." Gibson replied. "But that dragon was much too large to get enough food from here. Perhaps it saw Shuggazoom's inhabitants as a threat to its food sources."

"Well whatever the motive, that dragon should not have attacked Shuggazoom." Chiro declared. "If it ever comes back, we will take it out."

Gibson looked at Chiro with skepticism in his eyes, "Chiro, that dragon is fifty meters long," blank looks greeted him, "165 feet long." Gibson sighed. He let his words sink in before continuing. "It was pure chance that no one else was hurt. It is my opinion that if that dragon returns, we should not expect an easy victory. Or victory at all, for that matter."

"But if the dragon comes back, do we really have a choice?" Chiro's question left them all fearing the obvious answer.

* * *

The silent sentinels in the Zone of Wasted Years watched as the dragon returned to its nest and curled itself around the stone left in its nest. The dragon treated the stone with great care as it prepared itself for a silent vigil throughout the long, cold night. It placed strong scent markers all around its nest and watched for any movement, movement that would indicate something would dare approach the precious stone it guarded so carefully.

A curious little mouse approached the nest and placed itself close to the stone, the stone which bore the same hue as the dragon's scales. The dragon looked at the inquisitive rodent with fire in its eyes and smote the unfortunate visitor with a burst of fire which bathed the entire forest in an eerie green light. The dragon's fire was ferocious enough to roast anything it landed upon, yet precise enough to destroy even a mouse without setting the whole forest ablaze.

The dragon snapped up the charred mouse and swallowed it, it would not get much food in its vigil, unless it once again attacked the place teeming with fair-sized life that would actually line its stomach: Shuggazoom city.


	4. Chapter 3: Plans and Schemes

**Chapter 3: Plans and Schemes**

Sprx woke up the next day.

 _Where am I?_ Sprx thought, _There was the dragon, then I crashed, but what happened after?_ Sprx took in his surroundings for the first time and realized that he was in the medical bay, very early in the morning. The room was empty except for Gibson, who had fallen asleep at the foot of Sprx's bed. Sprx grinned as he realized that his brother was drooling slightly.

Then he remembered the fire.

He remembered the blinding green light and the stifling black smoke. He remembered the searing pain from the flames as they licked at him. He remembered his terror when he realized that his leg was broken and he couldn't escape, and he recalled his confusion when many of his burns stopped hurting. He was still getting burned, of that he was sure, but somehow he had stopped feeling pain in many of the burned areas. He vowed to ask Gibson about it when he woke up. He also remembered blacking out in the inferno.

"Sprx! You're awake!" A voice cut into his thoughts. It was Otto, the mechanic was holding a tool box and his green fur was covered in black smudges. "I fixed your Rocket!"

Gibson stirred when Otto dashed into the room, he saw Sprx and wore a huge grin on his face. "It is good to see that you are feeling better." Gibson stated, casually wiping the drool off of his chin as if all he was doing was scratching an itch.

In no time at all, the entire team was stuffed in the medical bay. They all surrounded Sprx with grins on their faces, Chiro and Nova seemed to be the happiest to see him awake and alert.

Yet their smiles seemed forced to Sprx, he had been a part of the Hyper Force long enough to know when the others had something on their minds. And they all looked to be worried about something, worry that they had attempted to put aside for Sprx.

Sprx instantly decided that he had to know.

"What's going on everybody?" he asked. He became concerned when he saw their masks fall away and their true emotions shone through. Something was _definitely_ wrong. He listened intently as the others explained their present conundrum.

When they finished, Sprx too shared their worry. This was not an enemy that could be defeated easily, and he had no idea where to begin on the dragon.

They could attempt to put explosives inside of it and detonate from the inside out, like they did with the Dark One, but Sprx had doubts that they could get anywhere near the creature without being blasted away by the fierce winds or cut to ribbons by the dragon's teeth or claws. They might try to use the Super Robot to fight it, but the robot did not seem so super when compared to the incredible size of the dragon. Nor could they attempt to attack the soft skin inside the dragon's mouth without being crushed by the dragon's massive fangs or burnt to cinders by the dragon's ability to breathe fire. An aerial battle, something Sprx could handle with ease, seemed more like a suicide attempt rather than a battle tactic when the dragon could fly.

Sprx felt a sense of despair at the seemingly unsolvable dilemma, and was consumed with a sense of hopelessness and fear when he considered that the dragon might come back. They could only keep it away for so long.

Sprx suddenly had an idea, an idea that was stupid, crazy, and likely doomed to failure when actually tested in the field. But it was the only strategy that had even a slight chance at success. The only problem was, would the team agree it was necessary?

"I have an idea!" Sprx declared, then quickly explained.

* * *

"That plan is dangerous and foolhardy!" Gibson objected, "We would all be killed before we even have a chance!"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Antauri cooly asked.

Gibson looked at the ground "No." he resigned.

"Then I say it is worth a shot." Antauri reasoned, then looked at Chiro, "That is, if you think it is a good idea. Remember, the final decision is yours."

Chiro hesitated before answering, "It is worth a shot, but we will only do it when you heal, Sprx." Chiro took a deep breath and continued, "It is too dangerous to wait and see if the dragon will attack again, we will not be able to win if the dragon has the advantage."

Sprx let his joy flow through him, they were trying his idea! They would be free of the dragon and its terrifying fire, Sprx didn't want to think about what would happen if someone he cared about had to go through the same raging inferno he had to go through. The dragon had to die, for the good of Shuggazoom.

* * *

 **BlueDiamondJJ: Thank you for the review, until now I was afraid that people didn't like the story. It is nice to see that people are enjoying my story. Thanks for the confidence booster.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Hunt Begins

**Chapter 4: The Hunt Begins**

I took nearly a month for Sprx to recover enough to fight the dragon. A month filled with planning for every possible retaliation the dragon would throw at the team, a month filled with anticipation and, in Sprx's case, impatience. Sprx wanted nothing more than to execute his brilliant plan, and the waiting was killing him. He could not contain his excitement when Gibson told Sprx that he was healed, it took all of his self-control to wait until night fell before blasting off in his Fist-Rocket and playing his role in the plan.

Eventually, the sun went down and the moon rose in the sky dotted with cold diamond stars. The team went to their stations and flew the Super Robot to the Zone of Wasted Years. There, they looked for the tell-tale signs of the dragon: footprints, scratches, wind blasted rubble, dung, and, of course, the dragon itself.

After several hours of searching, the Hyper Force found a small forest filled with ancient, wind-swept trees. Through a gap in the trees, they saw the hulking mass of the ice-colored dragon. They landed away from the dragon and crept up through the cover of the trees.

The dragon's body was emancipated, ribs were easily visible and the dragon's hide was dull. But what surprised them the most was the dragon's wide open eye, scanning for signs of danger.

 _Why is the dragon awake?_ Sprx thought in a panic. _This is not part of the plan!_

It was a good thing the dragon was weakened by hunger, or was that a bad thing? Sprx shook his head, they still had the element of surprise.

"Do you still want to risk this plan?" Chiro asked.

"Yes," Sprx responded, "the dragon is weaker than it was before. We can still do this."

"Highly unadvisable." Gibson warned, but Sprx ignored him. This was his plan, not Gibson's. He swallowed his uncertainty and put his mind back on the task at hand.

First, Sprx and Gibson detached their Fist-Rockets and approached the dragon from behind. They silently activated their Rockets' guns and hovered, ready to attack when the signal was given.

Sprx looked at the dragon with anger in his eyes, the dragon had attacked him without mercy, and for no good reason. As far as he was concerned, this dragon was worth less than nothing and did not deserve the gift of life.

He shook his head. _What is wrong with me today?_ He wondered.

He watched Chiro lead the others into stealth positions just inside the tree line while Antauri took to the skies and circled like a bird of prey. Sprx took out his magnets while Gibson took out his drills. Sprx and Gibson used their feet to operate the guns while they opened the front of their Rockets slightly to allow their weapons to slip through to the outside. Then they waited.

* * *

Chiro waited hidden in the trees with Nova and Otto as he watched Sprx, Gibson, and Antauri split from the formation and go into place. He still had doubts about Sprx's plan and was concerned that one or more of the team would come back wounded, or dead.

What he could not figure out was why the dragon looked so hungry. If it couldn't get enough food from the area why did it stay? It obviously had the ability to be a fearsome predator without worry of its prey fighting back. Nature had made this creature to be the apex predator of Shuggazoom.

Beyond the massive bulk of dragon's flesh and bone was the dragon's nest, Chiro could not see inside of it, but the dragon kept flicking its eyes back toward the nest as if trying to make sure it didn't vanish.

The dragon's behavior perplexed him, and he could not explain why he felt that it was more dangerous now than it was when it was before. Regardless, it was still deadly, and they should be careful.

* * *

Antauri watched from above while the dragon sat awake in the cold night, its wings fanned protectively over its nest, as if shielding what was inside from the sharp eyes of the hunters of the air.

Which is what he was at the moment. A predator ready to take down nature's greatest carnivore. After all, if they could defeat the Dark One, then the dragon should be simple.

But then, why did he feel so apprehensive about it? He could not shake the feeling that this was a terrible mistake and that they should leave now before they could take an action that would prove irreversible. He could not believe it, but he almost felt sorry for the dragon. His every instinct told him to back away from the titan, but the logical part of his brain overruled his basic instincts. Instincts that were probably tempered when he became the silver monkey.

If only he knew how right he was.


	6. Chapter 5: The Red Haze

**Chapter 5: The Red Haze**

Antauri waited in sky with his ghost claws at the ready. He watched an waited as he saw Sprx's plan in motion. He saw the Torso Tank leave the shelter of the trees with the Foot Crusher-Cruisers closely flanking.

The dragon turned its brilliant blue towards the moving vehicles and showed its enormous fangs in a gesture of aggression. Regardless, the three vehicles all fired their weapons at the dragon's right eye.

The dragon's blood was a bright crimson, almost glowing against the ice-colored scales of the dragon's face. The eye was mangled, the bright sapphire iris destroyed. Blood ran down the dragon's face like ruby tears, dripping down until it hit the soft forest floor with the pitter-patter of rain.

The dragon roared and turned its damaged eye away from the ground-based vehicles, finding itself face-to-face with the two Fist-Rockets. Sprx and Gibson used their weapons and the ships' guns to fire at the mangled mess that had once been the dragon's right eye.

The dragon backed up and stood directly over its nest, wings fanned protectively over it. The dragon swung its head around and waggled it from side to side, seeking reprieve from the constant assault onto its eye.

* * *

Sprx fired at the back of the dragon's head, accomplishing nothing except giving him a sense of satisfaction. It felt good to attack the dragon.

He remembered when the dragon had attacked him when he wasn't doing anything wrong, the dragon's emerald fire had nearly roasted him alive.

The blazing hot fire, scorching flames.

 _Trapped._

 _Burning._

 _No escape._

 _Fear._

 _Helplessness._

 _..._

 _Pain._

 _._

Sprx fired again, it just felt so good. It felt good to give the dragon the same fear and pain that it had given him. It felt good to blind the dragon, much like its flames had blinded him with their black smoke. It felt good to hurt the dragon, it just did.

Sprx felt something deep inside of himself awaken, something that he knew was buried inside of everyone. He felt a desire to punish and hurt, a feeling that would have terrified him any other time but filled him with a gleeful abandon now. He did not resist, but let the red haze of bloodlust fall over him. He allowed his anger to consume him and change him.

It should have scared him, but it didn't.

No, nothing was quite like the absolute loathing he had for the dragon. He hated the dragon and everything the dragon ever loved or will love. He felt the kind of hatred that turn good people evil and corrupt pure ideals.

He felt it, and he didn't care.

He swore right then and there that the dragon would die that night, and he drew the dragon's gaze upward.

He was ready for Antauri to make his move.

* * *

Antauri watched with concern as Sprx continued to fire at the dragon, he could feel the bloodlust rising off of Sprx like a crimson cloud. Sprx was acting outside of the plan and attacking with relentless fury. This was the first time that Antauri truly appreciated the magnitude of Sprx's detest of the dragon. Sprx was not himself, and Antauri was afraid of what Sprx would do if _anyone_ got in the way of his vendetta.

Sprx had allowed himself to be taken over by his absolute rage and fury, a darkness that no one could escape or deny, for even the purest of heart feel the fire of anger and hatred. Even he had to battle his darkest emotions whenever one of his teammates was hurt.

Antauri saw Sprx fly above the dragon's head and draw its gaze upward.

It was time for Antauri to make his move.

Antauri leaped out of the Brain Scrambler and dove down towards the dragon. He activated his ghost claws and aimed for the dragon's bloody eye socket. He dove down into it and broke through the fragile bones behind every eye. The bones designed to break and protect the eye from trauma had now become the dragon's downfall as Antauri buried his claws deep into the dragon's brain. Antauri's momentum carried him further still and he left a deep track through the gray tissue.

When he finally stopped, he ejected himself from the dragon's head through its eye socket. He activated his jetpack and flew up to his Brain Scrambler and landed his ship with Sprx and Gibson's ships. He watched with the others as the dragon let out a final roar in defiance of death. The dragon's head slammed into the ground where it breathed its last, and the remaining sapphire eye closed for its final time.

* * *

Sprx felt his bloodlust cooling as he watched the dragon die. He wasn't sure what he expected to feel. Satisfaction? Accomplishment? Victory?

But nothing at all?

Sprx was confused, surely this was finished? Surely he had to feel something, anything! Heck, he'd even take sorrow over the demise of such a powerful creature. But this emptiness was worse than anything. He did not feel anything, nothing at all.

A shrill shriek broke through his thoughts and he looked to see where it had come from.

It came from the nest.

Sprx felt his blood freeze when he saw something crawling out of the nest, he felt his emotions return when he beheld the creature. He felt anger, horror, and a terrible bloodlust threatening to consume him again.

The rest of the team arrived and saw the creature as well.

"Oh no." Chiro said with horror in his voice.

"Well, this explains everything." Gibson breathed.

Nova took a step backwards, reeling.

"It's so cute!" Otto exclaimed and scooped up the cat sized creature.

"Keep that thing away from me!" Sprx shouted.

"What have we done?" Antauri said, regret filling his voice.

For the creature in Otto's arms, was a newborn dragon.


	7. Chapter 6: When everything went to shit

**Heeeeeeey everybody! Guess who's back! I'm soooooooo sorry I took so long, but I promise you, only death will stop me from finishing my stories, so you don't need to worry about this little gem gathering dust in a forgotten corner of Fanfiction. As an apology, you get an extra-long chapter. Over 2500 words, I think that's a new record for me.**

 **If anyone seems OOC, know that it is intentional.**

 **And I fact-checked EVERYTHING...**

 **And by fact-checked, I mean I used Wikipedia to look up Magnetars (among other things), then decided to use some other knowledge I picked up from my little obsession with Cosmos. Great show, if you like science, check it out, it's on Netflix. (At least at the time of this posting it is; Netflix has a habit of removing great stuff)**

 **But enough rambling! Enjoy the story!**

 **If I owned SRMTHFG, we wouldn't be waiting for the next season to never air.**

* * *

Sprx transformed his hands into his magnets. "Step aside." he muttered darkly, "You too, Otto."

Otto shifted so that he was between Sprx and the little dragon. "But, it's so small." Otto pleaded, looking from Sprx to the dragon in his arms, and back again. "It wouldn't hurt a fly."

Sprx felt his rage growing again, "It is a fire-breathing _monster_!" he hissed. "We must kill _it_ before _it_ kills us!" He felt his anger morph into something darker, something that once consumed his very soul. He looked at the beast with fire in his eyes, these fires that pulsed and burned. He wanted nothing more than to kill that thing, it deserved nothing at all. He felt himself giving over to his flames, and he powered up his magnets, deactivating the safeguards that The Alchemist had installed years ago. He allowed his magnets to increase their magnetism beyond their safe levels. The force of the magnets was the opposite of Shuggazoom's weak magnetic field and was a force stronger than any magnetic power he had created before, stronger even than when Scrapperton had used the magnets to attract the entire city to his orbiting base.

The very air trembled with he force of Sprx's magnetic power, and the ground began to rise ever so slightly in a massive hill. He felt his neural network begin to misfire, and yet he didn't care, all he wanted was to use his power to rip that _beast_ apart. He could see Otto backing away slightly, he could feel the hands of the others attempting to restrain him, he could hear their voices without understanding them or particularly caring what they had to say. His entire being was concentrated in a single point of fiery hate directed at the monster Otto was holding.

A single voice broke through his blazing hatred.

 ** _"YOU IDIOT!"_**

He felt something strike the back of his head like a jackhammer, and everything went black.

* * *

Antauri felt horror pooling in his belly as he sensed Sprx's anger transform into hatred, the same hatred that had consumed him when he had touched the Fire of Hate. Before he could react, he felt himself being dragged towards Sprx. The power of his magnets was greater than anything he had experienced before, he nearly descended into a blind panic as he remembered a lecture on magnetars Gibson had given them a while ago.

 _Flashback_ ( **A.N.: This you can skip if you want, but you'll be very confused)**

 _"A magnetar is a neutron star with the most powerful magnetic force that as been discovered in the known universe."_

 _"More powerful than my magnets?" Sprx asked pridefully._

 _"Yes." Gibson affirmed, "These magnetars are so powerful that they produce lethal amounts of x-ray and gamma radiation. Should a magnetar come closer to Shuggazoom than Ranger-7 is, we would all die." Gibson let that revelation sink in before continuing, "Assuming that the star's heat did not incinerate us first, and the gamma radiation didn't kill us from radiation poisoning, the very power of its magnetic field would end our lives."_

 _"How?" Sprx asked, for once actually paying attention to one of Gibson's lectures._

 _"A magnetar's magnetic field attracts anything paramagnetic towards it and-"_

 _"Para-what?" Sprx asked._

 _Gibson sighed, "Anything that is attracted to a magnet." He took a breath and continued, "As I was saying, anything paramagnetic is drawn towards the magnetar, and the element sodium is paramagnetic._

 _"Sodium is the most common neurotransmitter there is. Neurotransmitters are the substances that send the signals from neuron to neuron" he explained, anticipating Sprx's question, "It's thanks to those substances that you can move at all._

 _"The mammalian heart's pacemaker is called the sinoatrial node, and it is not under the brain's control. The nerve cells, called neurons, have to create their own neurotransmitters so that the signals can tell the heart to beat. If the neurotransmitter sodium goes from the sinoatrial node to the nerves, then the heart will beat._

 _"If the transmission of sodium is interrupted by an external force, say, magnetars, such that the sodium ions never reach the next neuron, then the heart will stop. However, it takes a_ VERY _powerful magnetic force to do this. So don't get carried away with your magnets, Sprx."_

 _Antauri saw Sprx eyeing his magnets with a newfound appreciation. "I didn't know magnets could do that." Sprx commented._

 _"Yes, they can. You don't want to accidentally create a magnetic force that will interfere not only with biology but also technology, or even cause geomagnetic storms._ That's _why you have those safeguards in your magnets. Under no circumstance should you deactivate them."_

 _End of Flashback_

Antauri dashed towards Sprx and tried to pull him away from Otto and the dragon hatchling. "Calm yourself, Sprx." He commanded, joined by Chiro and the others as they attempted to reason with Sprx. Only Nova held back, distress evident on her face.

"Reinitiate your safeguards, Sprx!" Gibson urged. "Don't let your middle frontal gyrus overpower your left inferior frontal gyrus! _THINK!_ "

"Stop this!" Chiro implored, "You aren't thinking!"

Sprx's magnets begain to glow with a bright magnetic ball, and Otto began to back away, still holding the dragon in his arms.

It became too much for Nova. **_"YOU IDIOT!"_** she shouted, and raced headlong towards Sprx. She activated her fists and struck him in the back of his head. Sprx collapsed without a sound, his magnets transforming back into hands. "I'm sorry." She whispered, "You gave me no choice."

The hill sunk back down and the air stopped shimmering. The uncontrollable pull of the magnets faded and the Hyper Force could finally stand still, but the damage had already been done.

The sound of metal hitting the ground sounded as Antauri's systems shut down in a flurry of discharge, and Nova struggled to keep her internal computers online as she and the other robot monkeys felt discharge arc across their own systems. The monkeys felt their navigation systems go haywire and their communicators went dead. Their internal computers fought the EMP that shut them down, they were only saved by the emergency computers created for them by Gibson in the wake of the Soturis 7 incident. The Super Robot suffered the same fate; the emergency systems barely kept him functioning, any attempt to move him would require too much energy for the strained power systems to handle.

A few fiery streaks were visible as a few of the low-orbiting satellites incinerated upon reentry. Parts of Shuggazoom City went dark as the local transformers overheated and overloaded. The sky glowed with the lights of the aurora borealis.

And far, far beyond Shuggazoom's atmosphere, fading remnants of Sprx's magnetic pulse shifted the path of a cloud of meteoroids ever so slightly to the left.

* * *

A living skeleton sat in his fortress of bone that slowly orbited the planet. His onboard computer had suffered a major blow, barely functioning after the magnetic pulsation that radiated from the planet far below. He nearly screamed in frustration at the setback in his plans, but was interrupted by the sound of one of his mining teams reporting to him on his stricken communications systems.

They reported the shift in some of the largest iron-rich meteoroids' orbits, lamenting at the loss of the raw materials that they were going to mine. They gave the Skeleton King their best estimates on the meteoroids' new vectors.

The scientist he once was left a burning desire in him to know where they were heading, and he mentally calculated the meteoroids' trajectory. Was it possible? He didn't dare believe it, was his luck really that good? He double-checked his calculations, then triple-checked them.

And he laughed. His laughter ran throughout the entire ship, startling Mandarin as he had been trying to stay unnoticed.

"What, pray tell, is so amusing?" Mandarin asked the Skeleton King once his laughter had faded. The onboard computers were nearly fried, including his own; Project Ardent was set back months, perhaps even destroyed outright; and most of their raw materials needed to fuel the war effort were lost to the infinite void of space. "Your plans have been delayed, why are you laughing?"

"And here I thought I actually needed to _fight_ them." He commented with what sounded almost like glee to Mandarin's ears. The Skeleton King turned his gaze onto the orange monkey, "Keep Project Ardent online as a backup, I will not squander the opportunity that fate has gifted me with overconfidence."

Mandarin bowed respectfully and left the room, wishing that he had a better understanding of the Skeleton King's mindset. He walked the length of the ship, lost in his thoughts as he made his way to the science labs.

 _It was your choice._

Mandarin sighed as he heard that voice again. When he had been cloned from the original Mandarin, the voice wasn't there, but after the original had been "replaced", the voice appeared. He didn't dare tell the Skeleton King that there was something wrong with him, he would just end up "replaced" as well.

His systems strained to keep up with his biological parts as he tried to think, quickly realizing that the microchip damage would need to be repaired before he could think swiftly again, which meant more self-repair efforts that he would have to undergo. Yet another thing he kept from the Skeleton King. If the Skeleton King should ever find him fixing his own processor, then he would find out that Mandarin was just another failed clone; a defective machine, an out-of-date computer, another science experiment gone wrong.

 _Then why do you listen to him? You have a chance to do it again, why do you stay?_

Mandarin shook his head, "Leave me alone." he breathed angrily. It was settled, he would once again attempt to be free of the voice when he repaired his microchips. This time he would succeed, he wouldn't listen to this voice as it whispered in his sleep.

 _You'll never be free of me. I am you and you are me, you remember it all, why do you try to deny it?_

Mandarin barely suppressed a shudder. He wasn't supposed to have the memories, why were they there? He had tried to be free of them, but they were not in his processor when he looked, which meant that they were in his organic brain. He tried to suppress the memories and forget, but they were too powerful. They weren't his memories, they weren't meant to be there, they weren't supposed to exist.

And he didn't want to remember.

He didn't want to remember what it was like before, he didn't want to remember his mistakes that sealed their fate, he didn't want to remember the Skeleton King as The Alchemist. He wanted to be free of the original Mandarin's traces forever, instead they were mocking him, showing him what could have been if he had made different choices, and forcing him to witness the original Mandarin's fall. That's not who he was anymore.

No, it was never who he was!

He tuned out his thoughts as he approached the laboratory's door and opened it slowly. A massive tube sat in the middle of the room, surrounded on all sides by an army of computers, most of which were smoking. Mandarin went to the nearest operational computer and viewed the monitor. Yep, just as he thought, Project Ardent was delayed, but not irreversibly.

He turned his attention to the tube in the center, it was covered with solid steel and he couldn't see inside. But that didn't mean that he didn't know everything about Ardent's place in Skeleton King's plans, why Skeleton King came up with the plan, and what Ardent was. He shifted one of the metal plates to get a look. Project Ardent was fine, unharmed, not a scratch on the tiny little thing that the tube housed.

He felt sorrow well up inside him again and he slid the metal plate back into place. He was happy that Ardent was alright, but knowing how the Skeleton King would make use of Ardent almost made him wish that the magnetic surge had fried all of the computers in this room.

He made his way back to the Skeleton King and bowed deeply.

"Ardent is perfectly fine, so are the basic systems in the lab. However, all other laboratory equipment has overloaded. This will delay Ardent's completion significantly, though. I estimate by four months at the very least." He prepared himself for the Skeleton King's wrath.

"That is unfortunate." Mandarin jerked his head up, unable to believe his ears. The situation now was the definition of Murphy's Law, and the Skeleton King was _happy_.

"But-" Mandarin began.

"Take all of the damaged equipment and get rid of it, I can get replacements later. We will sit tight up here, I am willing to wait for the right moment before eradicating the monkeys. Project Ardent should be complete by then."

"You're...not...going to attack?" Mandarin felt his processor whirling every which way.

"No. Now go and take care of the damaged equipment Mandarin."

"Yes, my liege." Mandarin left the room and sagged with relief once he was out of the Skeleton King's view. The Skeleton King wasn't going to attack, they were going to stay up here away from the Hyper Force.

He had known from the beginning that the magnetic surge was caused by Sprx. Honestly, if he paid more attention to Gibson's lectures, then he could have learned long ago the true power of his magnets. Despite himself, he felt a surge of pride in the red monkey's achievement.

He cursed himself, this wasn't him this was _Mandarin's memory._ Why did he care? Why was he so happy when he heard that the Skeleton King was going to leave them alone? Why? Did the original Mandarin _care_?

 _Yes. Mandarin. You chose to bear that name. You are Mandarin, and Mandarin is you._

"I know that." Mandarin whispered as he started lifting broken computers that almost looked like they could be repaired by simply replacing the hard drive. "I don't want to be, though. These memories are not mine, they're not."

 _Surely you don't believe that? If I was in your place, I would take the opportunity to make up for my past._

"That's right! It's _your_ past! Not mine! They are _your_ memories! Not mine! _You_ chose to betray the Hyper Force, _Mandarin!_ "

* * *

 **So yeah, that happened. I want to ask, who was surprised?**

 **So, what do you all think the Skeleton King is happy about? Any guesses on what Project Ardent is?**

 **Another thing, Magnetars are real, and they are AWESOME! Move over Black Holes, Magnetars have taken the lead in the Most Destructive Thing In The Universe race.**

 **Please Review, I thrive on them, I'll even take flames! Heck, I'll even take Critics' United. Guest reviews are allowed, and last I checked, I turned off the profanity filter. So please, tell me what you think. I promise that I won't take anything bad to heart and will do my best to update sooner.**

 **?: Geez, you sound pathetic.**

 **What are you doing here? You don't exist.**

 **?: Fine. I'm out of here, but I'll be back!**

 **Did I really sound _that_ pathetic? Oh man, I was practically begging. Scratch that, I was running full throttle through the mud dragging my dignity behind me. *Winces* I sound needy. Whatever, maybe it's funny?**

 **What was I talking about? Oh yeah, see you all next time!**


	8. Chapter 7: I Can't Let That Happen Again

**What! Another chapter! Is it the end of the world or something! Yep, I'm back! And I'm on a roll!**

 **In all honesty, I personally liked last chapter the most, it matches what I feel a good chapter length should be (at least 1000 words). I really hope it wasn't too technical, sometimes I forget that not everyone reads _Moby Dick_ for fun and I use words that not everyone understands.**

 **But enough blabbing! On with the story!**

 **I do not own SRMTHFG, I wish I did, but I don't.**

* * *

Antauri woke up from his forced shut-down. He sat up slowly and looked around, he was in the medical bay, of that he was certain. Yet he felt a brief sense of confusion when he realized that not all of the lights were on. Adding to his befuddlement was the fact that he was hooked up to one of the Super Robot's emergency generators; his damaged hard drives really didn't have the capability to process this influx of information.

Wait, 'damaged hard drives'?!

Antauri's confusion vanished in an instant as the previous day's memories swamped him. He remembered Sprx giving over to the hatred again and the magnetic surge that he caused.

Antauri flinched as he recalled his body reacting to Sprx's magnetic surge; the feeling that some force was ripping through him and damage his metallic body until he was shut down. He hoped that everyone else was alright.

A groan from next to him caught his attention and he saw Sprx begin to stir in the bed next to him. Funny, he hadn't noticed him what with his hazy thoughts. Or Gibson approaching Sprx angrily for that matter. Wow, maybe his systems were worse off that he thought.

He observed without comment as Sprx sat up and found himself face to face with an enraged Gibson.

"What happened?" Sprx asked, confused.

"You happened!" Gibson answered, uncharacteristically angry. "Thanks to your little stunt, everything is at. Its. Worst!"

Sprx shook his head, the previous day still a blur, "What did I do?"

"Oh, just caused Antauri to receive nearly irreparable damage; shut down all but the most basic functions on the Super Robot; cause a power outage to half of Shuggazoom City; knock thirty-seven satellites out of the sky; make our navigation systems worthless; shut down almost all communications systems; create an unstable magnetic charge around the planet, thus making Shuggazoom's magnetosphere unstable and vulnerable to any kind of solar flare that could strip away the atmosphere; cause a _geomagnetic storm_ ; and leave us stranded here until the Super Robot's transformers are repaired! I hope you're happy, Sprx!" Gibson scolded, growing more and more furious with every word that he said, "I cannot believe that you would do something that _reckless_ and _stupid_!"

Sprx felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him, he remembered now, remembered his hatred. How could he have let it blind him? He should have known that removing the safeguards would end badly. No, he knew, he just didn't stop to think about it.

"Hey, if I got a little angry because that dragon was there, it's hardly my fault." Sprx said in his best dismissive tone.

"IT _IS_ YOUR FAULT!" Gibson exploded. "I disabled your magnets for the time being." Gibson said with a sigh once his anger subsided.

"If that dragon isn't here, then what's the problem? I won't get that way again." Sprx suddenly had a bad feeling, "It's here, isn't it." He stated, no humor in his voice at all.

As if in answer to his question, an ice-colored blur darted into the medical bay followed closely by Otto, "Come back here!" he called playfully, only to freeze when he saw Sprx.

Sprx saw the look his little brother gave him and felt guilt tearing him apart. Otto was the one Sprx had his magnets pointed at, Sprx was so focused on his loathing of the dragon that he stopped caring about whether or not Otto would get hurt. "Otto I-" Sprx extended his hand to Otto, breaking off when he saw Otto take a step back. Sprx felt something inside him break, "I'm sorry." He forced out, "I didn't mean to do that." Sprx felt his heart twist in guilt, "Can you ever forgive me?"

Otto made his way to Sprx, putting on a grin that his eyes didn't share, "I already have." he said quickly before edging away, "I'm hungry." he declared half-heartedly and shuffled out.

Sprx felt himself shatter at Otto's actions, and he felt a self-loathing so strong that it overshadowed the loathing for the dragon that was currently curled up against him-wait, what?

When he had been talking to Otto, the dragon had actually curled up against Sprx's side, and he didn't even notice at the time. He felt revulsion rise up inside of him and hastily shoved the dragon away, wincing as it fell to the ground with a squeak and glanced up at him indignantly. He got to his feet, "Can I leave?" he snapped at Gibson.

"You're fine." Gibson huffed, "I just needed to check for a concussion after the rather impressive punch Nova gave you." Sprx suddenly hated himself a little more.

"Alright." He replied curtly and strode out of the medical bay, frustration growing as he heard the little dragon follow him.

The others were gathered, and he felt their eyes boring into him as he passed. He really wasn't in the mood for this. He made his way to his room, feeling his annoyance rise when the dragon followed him in. "Leave me alone." He grumbled to the tiny creature, "I'm the one that wants you gone. Why are you following me?" He got no answer, not that he was expecting one.

"Sprx?"

Sprx looked up to see Nova standing there. "What do you want?" He grumbled. "Are you going to chew me out too? You must be, if you came to see me."

"Not at all, Sprx" Nova declared. "You aren't acting like yourself, anyone with a brain can see that. I wanted to see what the problem was."

"A dragon shows up, and because of that I get angry. Suddenly, everyone blames _me_ for overreacting." He felt bad, but that was for the results of his actions. "Now everyone is avoiding me except for the cause of all of this to begin with!"

"Sprx, not everything revolves around you." Nova said harshly, "I did not blame you for acting this way while you were under the Flames of Hate's control, but now you are _choosing_ to act this way."

Sprx felt his frustration coming to a head, "Now wait just a-"

" _You_ chose to deactivate your safeguards, no one made you." Nova continued as if Sprx hadn't spoken, "You can hate all you want, no one can tell you how to feel. But when you choose to act on that hate, the fault is _yours_ , not the object of your hate." She took a deep breath, "If you want to be this way, that is your choice. But if you want to waste your life on some petty hate, then we have to step in. We're supposed to be a team, team members share their hurts with each other."

"What are you talking about?" Sprx asked, confusion replacing his annoyance. He placed his hand next to him, resting it on the breathing mass curled up next to him without even noticing.

"Sprx. You were attacked _a month_ ago. Yet when we attacked the dragon yesterday, you were fueled by a pent-up rage that not one of us knew you had in you. You were so angry that you risked everyone's lives to kill the young dragon. Sprx, back when you first woke up after the dragon's mother attacked, _why_ didn't you tell us how much you were hurting?" Nova pleaded.

* * *

 **And there's a chapter. I'm so evil, hopefully it won't be a several month long wait next time.**

 **Yes, Sprx is OOC this chapter. I intended that, Sprx isn't angry, he's sad. He's hiding his sadness through his other emotions. He knows he's done wrong, but a little part of him (*cough*FoH*cough*) still feels like he hasn't done anything wrong.**

 **Oh, and Antauri is a little out of it because of damage to his hard drives, it won't last long. Neither will Otto's wariness.**

 **And as for why they took the dragon in anyway, it's mostly because Otto wouldn't let go of it. And they felt really bad. Plus, there's a reason that the dragon is following Sprx around everywhere, anyone who guesses it will get cookies. Seriously, I want to see if anyone will get it.**

 **To experience the full emotions of this fic, you _need_ to listen to Who I Am Hates Who I've Been by Relient K. It's the song I'm listening to while I'm writing this fic. **

**And let me make things perfectly clear. Nova went to see Sprx because she was worried about him, she's trying to be a big sister. Of course, if you want to interpret it as Spova, that's fine. Just know that this was not the intent in which I wrote the interaction between them.**

 **Until next time everyone. Be sure to review. Reviews make me happy.**


	9. Chapter 8: I'm So Sorry

**Look who's back? _Me,_ that's who! It's been far too long since the last chapter, so here you are! **

**And five reviews! I'm so happy! Thanks everybody who reviewed! I treasure every single one. I know it's not nearly as much as other people have, but HEY, it's something!**

 **Enough prattling, ON WITH THE STORY!**

 **I own nothing. If I did, I'd probably sell it to pay for college.**

* * *

Sprx looked at Nova with shock in his gaze, making Nova's heart twist inside. He seemed to forget all about the dragon as he looked at her.

"What makes you think that?" Sprx asked skeptically.

"You've been holding so much so anger inside it actually scares me." Nova reasoned, allowing her concern to fill he voice. "You haven't been yourself for the past month, everyone can see this, I'm just the only one who had enough courage to confront you about it."

Sprx dipped his head, "I'm sorry," he muttered, "But you don't know me at all." He got to his feet and stalked out of his room, followed closely by the little dragon scuttling across the floor after him.

* * *

Sprx felt himself heating up inside as he heard Nova's words tumble around in his head. How dare she have the gall to assume anything about him. He was so furious that he almost missed the fact that the dragon was following him.

"Oh, what do you want?" He shot towards the dragon. "Why can't you tail Otto relentlessly? He actually _likes_ you!" He lashed his tail back and forth.

The dragon did not respond, only eyed the tail. The dragon crouched and followed the tail with its eyes, tail tip twitching excitedly. It shifted slightly and pounced on the metal tip of Sprx's tail, biting deeply. Or at least it would, if it had teeth. It had yet to sprout its fangs.

Despite himself, Sprx had to suppress a smirk as he watched the dragon gum at his tail. His humor died quickly as he looked at it, though, and he pulled the dragon off of his tail. He raised the creature so that its eyes were level with his, "Stop." He said dryly. "Go bother someone else." He marched off, his frustration rising as he heard the click of the dragon's claws on the metal floor of the Super Robot.

He allowed his frustration melt away as he slid down his tube and emerged into the living area of the Super Robot. Ignoring he stares fixated on him, he made his way over to Otto.

"Otto, I'm so sorry." Sprx said, looking his little brother in the eye as he spoke, "It was wrong to do that to you and to everybody else. I don't ask you to forgive me, because if I were you, I wouldn't forgive me." Sprx bowed his head in shame.

Otto wrapped his arms around Sprx in a tight hug. "It's okay, Sprx. I forgive you." He held Sprx close.

Sprx, shocked, returned the hug that Otto was giving to him. "How could you forgive me? What I did to you was unforgivable. Why don't you hate me?"

"Because it's easier to forgive someone and be friends than it is to hate someone and be angry."

Sprx was left to ponder Otto's response as the dragon brushed against them both and Otto quickly turned his attention to the little thing weaving between their legs.

"Hey there little guy!" Otto cooed, "I'll bet you're hungry! I'm going to be busy with fixing the Super Robot, but I'll bet Sprx'll feed ya!"

 _Of course._ Sprx groaned internally.

* * *

Far above Shuggazoom, Mandarin sat in the chambers that the Skeleton King had designated as his. This chamber was the place that Mandarin went to escape the stresses of his life, and to feel whatever remorse he wanted to without the Skeleton King finding out. The Skeleton King would think him weak if he let his emotions through, and Mandarin was terrified that he would be "replaced". So, if he wanted to live, he had to be what the Skeleton King wanted him to be: obedient, remorseless, and merciless.

The only thing that Mandarin wanted in his life was to live another day, but sometimes he wondered if it would be worth it to just get it over with. Of course, that's stupid. Living was too sweet for Mandarin to give up just because he was unhappy. After all, if the Skeleton King won, then there wouldn't be any more unpleasant tasks for him to do.

Then again, if the Skeleton King won, then the Monkey Team would die, and Mandarin was sickened by the thought.

 _Of course you're sickened,_ the voice taunted, _you still care for them deep down._

"Shut up!"

 _Why else, when you plunged that sword into Antauri's head, did you hate yourself? It couldn't have been that you didn't like doing dirty work, you and I both know that you can be psychotic sometimes._

"Shut up!"

 _Why else did you send Antauri to kill the weakened Monkey Team when you made their worst fears true, you couldn't bear to do it yourself._

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut! Up! Shut! Up!" Mandarin screeched as he pressed his hands against the sides of his head "They mean nothing to me! I'm not supposed to care about them! I'm not supposed to want them to live! I'm supposed to kill them! A killer doesn't care about his victims!"

 _Then why do you?_

"I don't know!" Mandarin whimpered. "I just want thongs to go back to the way that they were before, when we were _happy_! Is that too much to ask? But I've done so much to them that they would chase me away long before I could apologize, and even if I could they wouldn't forgive me! What choice do I have _but_ to be the Skeleton King's lackey?"

 _You could always try._

"They would never forgive me. And if the Skeleton King should ever find out, then I should just kiss myself goodbye right then and there, because the Skeleton King would not allow me to live after that! After all, just look what he did to Valina! And she was his most loyal supporter! What hope do I have?"

 _As much as you give yourself._

* * *

 **And that's a chapter. I'm sorry for the fake out earlier, I just REALLY suck at emotions, and I wrote myself into a corner. You'll see Sprx's true feelings little by little, cause any more than that and I just get lost. I'm not so great with the whole "emotions" thing.**

 **Oh and, I'm starting college next month, go me. Updates will probably slow down (Is that even possible?) but I'll do my best.**

 **Please R &R, it keeps my mind on this story instead of on anime.**

 **See you all next time!**


	10. Chapter 9: You want me to do WHAT?

**I'm horrible, I know. It's been almost a year since I've updated, and I have been leaving everybody hanging since then. Life's been crazy, and I haven't found time to do anything. I'm at my wits end! DX**

 **So here's a chapter that you all have been waiting for, a good eight months after the last chapter was released. I'm so sorry. I've just been so exhausted as of late. Even now. :(**

 **Enjoy.**

 **I own nothing.**

* * *

 _How much food can one dragon eat?!_ Sprx thought with dismay as he watched the little dragon consume its fifth turkey, smashing the turkey with its claws and then gumming it down.

A voice broke in, "Sprx."

Sprx turned to see Antauri floating over to him. "Looks like you're feeling better." Sprx joked.

Antauri did not respond, he only looked at the baby dragon still ripping apart the turkey with its claws.

Sprx shifted uncomfortably, "Did you want something from me?" he asked.

"Actually, yes." Antauri replied, turning his gaze back to Sprx. "I want you to take responsibility for raising the dragon."

Sprx felt his stomach drop, "What?!" he demanded incredulously.

"It is the least we can do for the dragon." Antauri replied calmly. "We orphaned it, so we should take responsibility, and take care of it until it can take care of itself."

"Why me?" Sprx asked. "Why can't someone else do it?!" The thought of spending any time with the dragon made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I gave it a lot of thought, and I have come to the realization that your bout of anger could do with some tempering. You must learn to control yourself, lest you could destroy something or someone you care about, like what could have happened today." Antauri replied, "You held in a large amount of hatred for the dragon who hurt you, and you took it out on the one that did not. I believe that the best way for you to get over your grudge is to interact with the young dragon in a positive way."

"That's crazy!" Sprx exclaimed, "That isn't a reason to spend time with that _thing._ "

Antauri's eyes narrowed, "Then how about this: your rash decision to deactivate your magnet's safeguards was a very bad decision, and you must face the consequences for it."

"You can't be serious!" Sprx exclaimed, dismayed.

"I am serious." Antauri responded, "This is a lesson that you must learn."

Sprx panicked, what Antauri was suggesting was the one thing that he didn't want to do. He cast a glance to the dragon, still ripping the turkey apart. He didn't want anything to do with it, he would rather give up flying forever than be anywhere near the vicious beast.

"You will be responsible for feeding the dragon, cleaning up after it, giving it exercise, and teaching it how to fly." Antauri ordered. "And you must also keep it out of trouble, anything that happens to it will be your responsibility, so do not let it hurt itself or others. Is that understood?"

Sprx was speechless, this couldn't be happening, this must be a bad dream.

"Is that understood?" Antauri repeated, his tone of voice leaving no room for argument.

Sprx gave in to the inevitable, "Yes." he muttered, his head lowered.

"Then I had best leave you to it." Antauri commented before turning around and leaving.

Sprx looked at the ceiling, "Now what?" he called despairingly.

* * *

Antauri returned to the medical bay, where Gibson was waiting for him. "I have given Sprx responsibility for caring for the dragon."

"So you were serious about that?" Gibson commented, "It seemed so absurd I thought for sure it must have been a joke."

"I assure you, it is no joke." Antauri replied, "It will do him good to take care of the dragon, and to show compassion for it."

"Her."

"Excuse me?"

"Her. The dragon is a girl." Gibson reiterated, "I did a physical examination to make sure she was alright when I was done with you and Sprx."

"Why didn't you mention it before now?" Antauri asked.

"It did not seem important. There were more pressing concerns. But still, is it really a good idea to leave her care in Sprx's hands? He does not seem the best capable of it, and his feelings of vengeance may interfere with the dragon's well-being." Gibson stressed.

"Are any of us capable of raising a dragon perfectly? Not one of us knows a thing about dragons. And his blind hatred may well cause us trouble in the future, it is best to nip this problem in the bud before it blooms into something worse. And I believe that this is the best way to go about fixing that hatred."

"Do we really have time, though?" Gibson asked, "The Skeleton King could attack us any day, shouldn't our first priority be repairing the Super Robot and returning to Shuggazoom City as soon as possible instead of playing with a dragon hatchling?"

"Did you ever consider that maybe the fact that having a dragon on our side may give us an edge in the coming war?" Antauri reasoned.

"No, I did not." Gibson admitted, "It would certainly help greatly."

"Yes it would." Antauri agreed. He had come up with the idea very soon after Sprx had left the medical bay, and he had been toying with the implications up until he had approached Sprx with his order to care for the dragon. The more he thought about it, the more he liked it. It would be difficult, but he had no doubts to the benefits of such a plan. And he was sure that Chiro would agree.

Which brought up another line of thought, "Where is Chiro? I need to speak with him." Antauri asked.

"Last I saw, he was trying to get our communications functional so that he could check on Jinmay." Gibson responded. "He's worried about her, and is concerned that without us, she and Captain Shuggazoom will have to defend the City from the Skeleton King's hordes alone."

"Thank you, Gibson." Antauri stated and left.

* * *

Mandarin fiddled with his processor yet again, trying to repair the damage done by the electromagnetic pulse originating from Shuggazoom. With working versions of his hardware scavenged from the computers that had only minor parts burned out, he replaced the parts that were damaged, leaving his core systems untouched. This was problematic, he needed to replace those parts, but he couldn't without risking his own identity in the process. Not to mention the fact that there were no other copies of his core parts in existence except in the other monkeys and possibly in the Alchemist's lab.

Faced with a dilemma, he resolved to solve it later, after he had time to think of a solution. He hid his tools and broken hardware that had already been removed and closed himself up, and just in time. The Skeleton King was contacting him on his communicator.

"Mandarin, I require your presence." The Skeleton King ordered.

"Yes, Master." Mandarin responded immediately and rushed over, he knew better than to keep the Skeleton King waiting. For his wrath was something he feared more than anything.

 _You were supposed to stop him, remember?_

 _Not you again!_ Mandarin thought. _Can this not wait?_

 _Can it?_

Mandarin groaned and ignored the voice as he made his way to the Skeleton King's throne room. Once there, he bowed at the Skeleton King's feet, not daring to look him in the eye.

"You're late." The Skeleton King hissed. "I thought I told you that I wasn't to be kept waiting."

"My apologies, Master." Mandarin hastily replied, it would not do to make the Skeleton King more angry.

 _Here's your chance._

"I thought I made it clear that I am your first priority, and your only priority." The Skeleton King leered.

 _Kill him!_

"It will not happen again, Master!" Mandarin promised, doing his best to keep the panic from entering his voice.

 _Kill him!_

"See that it doesn't." The Skeleton King threatened. "Now, I called you here because I have a job for you to do."

 _Do it now!_

"What will you have me do, Master?" Mandarin asked, keeping his relief hidden deep inside.

 _I'm starting to see the problem here._

"I need you to retrieve something for me. Return to the Pit of Doom and salvage everything there that is not natural and bring it to me, be it metal, wood, or anything else. Take some Formless with you, and see that you do not miss a single thing, not a single fragment of stone, a splinter of wood, or a chip of metal. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Master." Mandarin promised.

"Then you are dismissed."

Mandarin somehow bowed even deeper, then turned to leave the throne room.

"Oh, and one more thing." The Skeleton King growled, "If you miss _anything_ , I will hold you responsible, and you will suffer the consequences."

Mandarin bowed again, "Yes, Master." He then scuttled out of the throne room to complete his mission.

 _I forgot. Are you a monkey, or a dog?_

* * *

 **I like writing Mandarin the best right now. No one gives Mandarin any love, I feel like the only Mandarin fan in the world, even though I know that that's not true. Too few fanfictions show Mandarin in a good light, and that makes no sense, because in other fandoms, characters so much worse get so much love (Gamzee anyone?).**

 **So, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope it won't be another eight month wait for the next one.**

 **I read all reviews, and I love them all. In fact, I reread them because I love them so much. So please, review, it makes me so happy to see that people love my stories, and it inspires me to continue. I treasure every last one of them, so don't be shy. Even if I don't respond, it doesn't mean that I haven't seen them, it just means that I have no time to respond.**

 **God, I'm so tired. I'm going to sleep now. Till next time, everybody.**


	11. Chapter 10: Bones

**Hello everybody! I'm feeling much better today :D**

 **This chapter came so soon after the last one because my mojo came back as rainbows flying from my eyes, and I needed to get it out of me now or I never would.**

 **And I somehow concocted a boring lecture for the first part. HOW?**

 **It's all about reptiles! Oh well, dragon biology it is.**

 **The second part is probably much better, though. So enjoy.**

 **I own nothing!**

* * *

The dragon had finally stopped eating and was now curled up on the floor dozing. Its tail tip and feet twitched as if it was dreaming. Sprx really didn't know what to do.

"So I'm supposed to take care of you. How do I do that?" Sprx mused out loud, the dragon was a mystery to him, and he really didn't want to look after it. As far as he was concerned, this dragon was a disaster waiting to happen. It may have fooled everyone else, but it wasn't fooling him. He would show everyone that the dragon was dangerous, and then they would finally be rid of it.

Which meant that he had to watch it constantly for signs of trouble. Great.

Gibson walked in. "How are you faring?"

"Just _peachy_." Sprx replied, "I'm stuck babysitting this thing while everyone else is doing something important."

"This _is_ important." Gibson responded. "A dragon is a dangerous creature, it breathes fire and can cause destruction just by being in a room with flammable substances. Someone must keep an eye on her so that nothing bad happens."

"So you agree with me!" Sprx said excitedly. "It's dangerous and we should be rid of it."

"I did not say that." Gibson corrected. "I merely said that she is dangerous."

"So let me get this straight, you think it's dangerous, but we shouldn't get rid of it?" Sprx asked, aghast.

"A dragon can be useful." Gibson offered, "But only if she will not attack us."

"She?"

"The dragon is female, Sprx." Gibson replied, sounding exhausted.

"So it could lay more eggs?" Sprx asked, this was very troubling to him. If that thing multiplied, then they would destroy the city. The more he learned about the dragon, the more apprehensive he became.

"Possibly in the future, but definitely not now. I just thought I'd give you a hand by telling you what I have learned about her on my cursory examination."

"Sure, why not." Sprx replied, feeling resigned to the inevitable at this point. Why not just let Gibson get all of this out of his system now, it's not like any more time would make it any easier to comprehend.

"Alright. The dragon is a female and clearly only two weeks old. She will eat like a newborn eats, so you must provide her with plenty of food."

"Figured that out myself, brainstrain. Tell me something I haven't found out yet." Sprx sighed.

"I was getting there." Gibson replied indignantly. "You must let her outside frequently. She is a reptile, so her body temperature is reliant on the sun, yet she can maintain her own body heat enough to sustain motion, she is essentially a cross between an ectothermic organism and an endothermic one."

"Meaning?"

"Cold-blooded and warm-blooded." Gibson huffed. "She will lose body heat if she is not moving, so she'll need to be kept in a warm place while she's resting. How about I help you with that now?"

"Fine." Sprx grunted. He picked up the dragon and carried it to his room. Gibson arranged the blankets so that the dragon would be warm. The dragon did not seem happy to be moved, letting out an indignant squeak when Sprx picked it up, but soon settled down in the blanket pile.

"What else?" Sprx mumbled. This was not how he wanted to spend his day.

"She will likely need to shed her skin. And if she is like other reptiles of a similar size, she will need to shed every month. However, that will only be proven by further observation as she grows."

"Fascinating, brainstrain." Sprx replied, "I guess I'll need to clean up the mess then."

"Yes Sprx, it will undoubtedly be messy."

"Wonderful." Sprx groaned.

"As I was saying, she will likely shed. So you must keep her fed and give her enough water, or else her shedding will fail."

"Is that bad?" Sprx replied, losing interest by the second.

"It could lead to permanent skin damage." Gibson responded. "Look for signs such as dull scales and dead patches of her skin. This is a sign that she is failing to shed her skin."

"Whatever." Sprx replied.

"Sprx! This is serious!" Gibson said adamantly, "Pay attention!"

"Fine." Sprx replied, resigning himself to a very boring day.

"Digestion of food is slower for a reptile than for a mammal, but her constant growth will likely mean that she will eat more during her hatchling days." Gibson lectured. "Do not make her eat if she is not hungry though. If you suspect that she is not eating because she is hurt or sick, come get me, I will confirm."

"Sure thing." Sprx responded, disinterested. He forced himself to listen though.

"Her brain is unusually large compared to other reptiles. This may indicate an intelligence level closer to that of birds or mammals than to other reptiles. I may observe her for more data later." Gibson said, seeming to become excited.

"Then how about you raise her, then?" Sprx offered, hoping that Gibson would accept.

"As interesting as that may be, I cannot. I am far too busy for that. And besides, Antauri said that you are responsible for raising her." Gibson responded, almost disappointed.

 _Figured it wouldn't be that easy._ Sprx thought. "What next?"

"Her bones are lightweight like a bird's bones are to facilitate flight. Make sure that she avoids damaging those fragile bones." Gibson warned. "And do not go about trying to injure her, everything that happens to her is your responsibility."

Sprx said nothing, he was too busy trying not to fall asleep, his stubbornness was the only thing keeping him awake and attentive, to the best of his ability.

"Her chest muscles are very large, much like a bird's chest muscles are. So it would be wise to teach her how to fly sooner rather than later, and once she flies, she will need to fly regularly. It would be bad if her muscles were to atrophy, or wither and die." Gibson advised.

"So what you're saying is, I'll need to fly with it regularly?" This got Sprx's attention. If he had an excuse to fly more often, then this would definitely be a silver lining to some very dark storm clouds.

"Yes, Sprx." Gibson confirmed, smirking slightly.

 _Maybe this won't be so bad._ Sprx thought.

* * *

Mandarin trekked down the slope that led to the bottom of the Pit of Doom, followed by a small army of formless and some of those massive slug things that the formless sometimes rode. The way was very long, and the evil presence at the bottom of the Pit made him feel physically ill. He counted himself fortunate that the Dark One egg had been sealed up and the Dark One Worm was dead.

At the bottom of the Pit, the ground was covered with debris. Pieces of wood structure from when the Pit was first dug, rubble from the destroyed bridge when the Dark One egg hatched, chunks of stone from when the Skeleton King was revived, small pieces of metal, and some small animal bones.

Mandarin began to gather up the debris and the formless followed his lead, placing the rubble that they had gathered into large bins the slug things were carrying. Mandarin picked up some of the shards of bone, he could recognize what they came from; birds, squirrels, and...

Mandarin looked closer at the shard of bone he was holding, this was definitely not a rodent's bone, nor was it a bird's bone. It was a skull fragment from something larger.

Mandarin felt a sick feeling in his stomach as he looked at the scattered bones on the ground. He began to mentally label each bone as he found them; a piece of a rib, the broken half of a shoulder blade, some of the bones of the spine and tail, and a shard of the pelvis, just to name a few.

Mandarin felt a sinking feeling as he saw shards of metal and pieces of circuitry scattered amidst the bones. He knew where these bones came from, and the conspicuous absence of any visible arm bones confirmed his hunch.

Suppressing his emotions, he gathered up the pieces and put them in a bin separate from the other salvaged debris, he had a feeling that this is what the Skeleton King wanted him to gather, and he couldn't just return without those pieces of bones and circuits, no matter how much he wanted to. And if he was wrong, then he could properly bury them.

The way Antauri deserved.

* * *

 **I felt like writing more, but that ending just flowed so well I couldn't. 1500 words it is, then. I hope everybody liked it, and since I've got some time off of school, maybe I can write more chapters. Make up for the massive amount of filler here.**

 **To be honest, I really don't know all that much about raising reptiles and birds, I just looked at the wiki pages for both reptiles and birds to make an accurate representation of the dragon's biology. In my mind, the dragon is a cross between a reptile and a bird, but no feathers.**

 **So, until next time guys.**

 **:)**


	12. Chapter 11: Explosive Sneezes?

**Hi everyone. I'm baaaaaaaack. I'm going to shut up and let you read the chapter now, go for it!**

 **I own nothing.**

* * *

Chiro tried once again to establish communications with Jinmay, and once again was met with a static screen for his efforts. Resolving to keep trying he leaned down to where Otto was working with the wiring of the Super Robot.

"How are we doing?" Chiro asked.

"Not so great for now." Otto responded. "The Robot's circuits are fried and the wires are shot. But I'll keep going." He rerouted some cables and connected them to each other. "Try it now." he suggested.

Chiro hoped for the best and put a call out to Jinmay, but the static didn't change. Chiro felt worry growing inside of him, what if the problem wasn't on their side, what if it was on hers? What if she was lying somewhere in the city with her circuits damaged and unable to get help?

"Did it work?" Otto asked.

"No. But keep trying." Chiro commanded.

Chiro was about to try again, despite the previous failure, when Antauri's voice broke into his worry. "Chiro."

Chiro turned to see Antauri approaching him. "What do you need? I'm kind of busy here."

"I need to speak with you." Antauri stated. "I know you're worried, but this is important."

"Alright. Otto, keep working on reestablishing contact with Jinmay." Chiro instructed.

"No problem." Otto replied.

"Okay, what's so important?" Chiro asked.

"I am worried about Sprx." Antauri confided. "He's been very angry as of late and that has been interfering with his judgement. This incident here may well be the start of something bad. I've given him care of the dragon to try and temper that anger, but I'm starting to worry that this may not be fast enough to prevent his next outburst. Not with the Skeleton King readying to attack us."

"I don't know." Chiro admitted. "This incident has got me worried as well." Wait, did Antauri say that he was letting Sprx raise the dragon? "You're letting Sprx raise the dragon?" Chiro asked incredulous, "Don't you think that'll make it worse?"

"I would be lying if I said that wasn't a concern of mine, Chiro. But I believe that this is the best way to help him."

"Isn't there an easier way?" Chiro asked.

"Someone has to raise the dragon, and I believe that Sprx is he best capable of it."

A massive boom resounded throughout the Robot, startling Chiro enough to make him jump. "What was that?!"

"I don't know." Antauri said, sounding equally concerned.

Chiro, Antauri, and Otto raced towards the source of the noise, they were soon joined by Nova.

"GET BACK HERE!" Sprx's voice echoed.

"She has explosive sneezes?!" Gibson exclaimed.

Chiro reached the source of the noise to see Sprx, Gibson, and the dragon all covered in soot. Sprx was chasing the dragon in circles while Gibson simply seemed shocked.

"What happened?" Chiro asked.

"This thing sneezed and nearly blew us to smithereens!" Sprx said angrily as he chased the dragon into a corner. "Gotcha!" he exclaimed, but the dragon sneezed again, making another powerful explosion rock itself and Sprx. "THAT'S IT!" he shouted.

"Sprx, calm down." Gibson instructed, holding him back, "She clearly didn't mean it."

The dragon, as if agreeing, chirped, blowing up a puff of smoke as she did so.

"Let me at it!" Sprx demanded.

"No." Gibson ordered.

Chiro decided that he should take matters into his own hands before the situation got worse. "Sprx, take the dragon outside until it finishes sneezing. Gibson, keep an eye on Sprx."

"Got it." Gibson responded. "Sprx let's go."

Sprx huffed angrily and began to follow Gibson out of the robot, shooting a glare at the dragon trotting along after him. "I'll get you for this." he promised angrily.

* * *

Sprx couldn't believe it. One moment the dragon was sleeping peacefully, and the next moment he was covered in soot from an explosion. And now he was outside with the dragon waiting for more exploding sneezes. But the dragon simply basked in the sunlight, all violent explosions gone. "Oh, now you stop." Sprx groaned.

"Sprx." Gibson said warningly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Brainstrain." Sprx huffed.

The dragon suddenly stopped basking and began stretching its wings. It began making weak down-strokes. "Is it trying to fly?" Sprx asked, all irritation gone.

"I think so." Gibson affirmed. "Is she ready?"

""No one needs to be ready to learn how to fly!" Sprx exclaimed. "Let's do it!" he activated his jet pack. "Keep flapping!" he encouraged.

"Sprx, what...?" Gibson asked.

"The sooner it flies, the sooner I can fly more often. So keep going." Sprx replied. The dragon began flapping harder. "Keep trying!" Sprx encouraged, becoming excited. He was about to do it, he was about to teach something how to fly. "Flap harder!"

The dragon's flaps began to slow down as it began to tire. "No, don't give up." Sprx said, swooping down and scooping up the dragon in his arms, extending them forward to give the dragon plenty of room and making upward and downward motions of his own to simulate the movement that birds have when they fly. "Try it now."

The dragon, with more space for its wings began making complete strokes. It began to flap faster and faster until it slowly began to lift off from Sprx's arms. "Yes, that's it!" Sprx cried, "Keep going!" The dragon's flaps became faster, fuller, and more powerful. Eventually it became airborne alongside Sprx.

"YES!" Sprx whooped, looping in the sky. The dragon did it! It was flying. Then it suddenly hit him, he just became excited at an accomplishment of the dragon's. He shook his head, of course he was excited, proud, even. It meant he could fly in his Fist-Rocket sooner. Even if it meant flying alongside the dragon, it was a sacrifice that he could live with.

* * *

Mandarin returned to the Citadel of Bone with the debris he collected from the Pit of Doom. "Master, I have returned." Mandarin stated, bowing at the Skeleton King's feet.

 _Lapdog._

 _Shut up!_

"Mandarin, were you thorough?" Skeleton King threatened.

"Yes, Master." Mandarin responded.

"Very good." the Skeleton King responded. "Have the Formless deliver the debris to me, return to your quarters until I call for you."

"Yes, Master." Mandarin bowed and left. He returned to his room where a bin of bones and circuitry was waiting for him. He knew he was taking a massive risk defying the Skeleton King like this, but he could not entertain the thought of giving him Antauri's bones. He put his own broken hardware into the mix to try and throw off he Skeleton King, digging up other monkey bones from the subterranean jungle to complete the deception. And he did it without arousing suspicion.

 _Interesting._

"What now?"

 _You wanted to live, but you defy him. Those don't go hand in hand. Are you making a martyr of yourself?_

"First you tell me to kill him, the you tell me to not defy him. Make up your mind!" Mandarin snarled quietly. But the voice didn't return. _Good riddance._ Mandarin thought. But the voice made him think. Why _did_ he defy the Skeleton King over a few dry bones and broken circuits? Sure, it was once Antauri, but Mandarin wasn't a member of the Hyperforce anymore, and it's not like Antauri was dead or anything. So why?

The obvious answer left Mandarin wondering where his loyalties truly lied.

* * *

 **Boom! Done! More Mandarin character growth! Woohoo! I hope that made up for the last chapter. Plus, Sprx teaching the dragon to fly was a scene that I couldn't wait to write. I went back and edited it so many times to get it just the way I thought of it, and I don't think I succeeded. Ah well.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed, and please review. I love them, I need them. It is my lifeblood.**

 **Till next time!**


	13. Chapter 12: The Scales Begin To Tip

**It's over three thousand words. I can't believe it. I knew I was writing a lot more than I usually do, but this, just, I don't know what to say.**

 **I can't tell you how much fun writing this story is, it's so much fun, I'm worried that I might make it last forever. But it's okay, I already know what I'm doing with this story. Maybe a sequel then, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.**

 **Writing this is so much fun, I'm learning so much because of it.**

 **So, enjoy.**

 **I own nothing.**

* * *

The Skeleton King sat on his throne as he watched the Formless lay the bins of rubble before him. He put Mandarin on the salvage mission for only one item, but he did not want to tip off those filthy primates to his real goal, so he masked the mission as a general hunt for his leftover materials. He had but one true objective from this mission.

As the Formless laid the last bin in front of his throne, he rose to his feet. "Leave me." he commanded. The Formless scuttled out of his throne room like ants after their hill is smashed. Once alone, he used the powers gifted to him by the Dark Ones to levitate the bins closer to him. He removed the stone pieces and tossed them aside. The wood met the same fate, hurled against the wall like the trash it was. The chunks of the destroyed bridge joined the stone and wood in the decrepit pile at the far end of his throne room.

When he reached the bones, he paused. He perused each one carefully, chuckling to himself as he recognized the simian bones in his grasp. Ah, if only that repulsive monkey had stayed dead, then his foes would have long been crushed beneath his foot without any fuss or muss, but that was all in the past. He saved the bones for himself and extended a tendril of power to his true objective: the circuitry that Mandarin had recovered.

He caressed the fried circuits carefully, they were all damaged, but not irreparably. This was to be expected, after all, that loathsome primate had thrown himself directly into the Dark One egg like a fool. Ultimately, his sacrifice was meaningless, the Dark One was freed despite his efforts. The futile heroics of his adversaries were, at some points, amusing. Little did he know that in doing so he had given the Skeleton King the very key he needed to finally eradicate the Hyper Force. Once they were finally beneath his feet, he would extend the very same treatment to every single living thing across the cosmos.

Mandarin was a skilled pawn, but that was all he was, a pawn, and nothing more. Once he had the cosmos in the palm of his hand, he would finally give to Mandarin the same reward that he had given to Valina. It was the only reward that any of his followers would ultimately receive once their purpose was served.

The Skeleton King laughed in his throne room, one by one, every living thing would fall, and the Dark Ones' will would finally be accomplished.

* * *

"What do you mean I can't fly?!" Sprx shouted incredulously. It had been two weeks since the dragon had arrived at the Super Robot, and it was getting better at flying every day. Sprx was confident that he could take to the air in his Fist-Rocket now, and the dragon would keep up with his expert pilot skills. After all, the dragon was learning from the best. But when he approached Chiro with his plan, he was turned down!

"The Robot is still being repaired, Sprx. And our fuel reserves are at an all time low. We need to save as much as we can for our return to Shuggazoom City. After we get there, and secure more Robot fuel, you can fly." Chiro reasoned.

"This is crazy!" Sprx said, "First the dragon, now this!?" He needed to fly, being confined to the Robot and the surrounding landscape was making him stir-crazy. Flying using his jet pack was not the same as flying in his Fist-Rocket, and if he didn't get airborne soon, he might just go insane.

"Sorry, Sprx." Chiro said. "I know you want to fly, but you can't yet."

"How much longer until we return?" Sprx demanded.

"Otto says that we should be here for a few more weeks." Chiro replied, "But I think we should aim for a week before returning."

Sprx heard the worry in the kid's voice and had a brilliant idea. "How about I fly over to the city and check things out there? I could make sure that the citizens are okay, including Jinmay." Sprx said, playing on the kid's worry for Jinmay. He felt bad about that, but he really needed to fly, and soon.

"He does make a valid point, Chiro." Antauri chimed in. "We haven't had contact with the city in two weeks. It would be beneficial to us to find out."

Chiro seemed to think about it. "Alright, but be careful Sprx. And take Gibson with you."

It took all of Sprx's self control to stop himself from leaping into the air in glee. He did it! He could fly!

"Check on the dragon first." Antauri commanded. "Make sure she's fed before you leave."

"Fine." Sprx conceded, his joy fading a little. The dragon always took forever to eat anything, although lately it had been eating less, so maybe it wouldn't be as long of a wait.

He hurried over to his room where he had left the dragon sleeping. When he got there, though, the dragon was awake. It's eyes seemed huge as it watched him approach. And was it just him, or did it's ice colored scales seem a little gray?

"Are you okay?" Sprx asked, extending his hands towards the dragon. The dragon let out a growl as he approached. Sprx retracted his hands and crossed his arms, "And what is your problem now?" Sprx grunted.

The dragon did not growl again, it merely shifted uncomfortably in the pile of blankets, rubbing its head against the ground. It let out a little keen as it moved.

"Despite himself, Sprx felt worry creep into him. "What's wrong?" he asked. He picked up the dragon, "Does it hurt somewhere?"

The dragon began to squirm and sank it's barely emerging teeth into Sprx's arm, growling as it did so.

"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?!" Sprx shouted and dropped the dragon. The dragon landed with a squeak and turned to Sprx, snapping violently as it did so. It rubbed itself on the ground again, growling with agitation.

"Sprx, what's the matter?" Gibson asked, being the only one close enough to hear Sprx shout, and had hurried over.

Sprx turned around, "What's the matter? This thing just bit me!" he raged. "What's its problem?!"

Gibson looked at the dragon. "Hold on." he said and approached it. The dragon growled as he did so, snapping as Gibson extended his hand towards it. "Easy." Gibson soothed, but it had no effect, the dragon seemed to become more irritated. "How much has she been eating lately?"

"Maybe one turkey a day? Why does it matter?" Sprx demanded.

"How much did she eat before?" Gibson inquired.

"I don't know, a few turkeys every six, seven hours." Sprx replied, "Again, why does that matter?"

The dragon growled and rubbed it's head against the ground again. "I believe that she is undergoing ecdysis."

"Meaning?" Sprx asked, frustration welling up inside of him. What did ek-de-whatsis have to do with anything?

"She's shedding." Gibson explained. "In order for her to grow she has to shed her old skin and grow a new one."

"So it's shedding. Why did it bite me?" Sprx demanded. He sometimes shed his fur, all the monkeys did. Sure, it was embarrassing, but it never caused him to react like the dragon was.

"Sprx, when a reptile sheds its skin, it is because it needs to grow. Their skin doesn't grow with them, it makes life very uncomfortable for them when they need to shed. Their skin is too tight, they essentially become trapped in their own bodies, it is not a pleasant experience." Gibson explained.

Sprx felt pity well up inside him as he watched the dragon squeal in discomfort as it rubbed its head against the ground, claws scrabbling against the ground as it did so. He already felt trapped by the Robot, but to be trapped in his own body? He would rather die. "How can we help it?"

Gibson looked at Sprx with a surprised look on his face. "We can get a tub of warm water. A _small_ tub, mind you, we don't want her to drown in it. We can use a warming lamp after she is soaked to keep her comfortable, and we need a rough object for her to rub against. It helps her shed her skin."

"I'm on it." Sprx promised as he darted out. He traveled down his tube to the common area. He dashed into the techno-ball. He _knew_ that almost everything he needed was in there. He bolted right past Antauri without even noticing.

"Sprx, what are you doing?" Antauri asked. "I thought you were going to check out how the city is faring."

By that point, Sprx had his head buried in a cabinet, "Yeah, about that, can you and Gibson handle that? I'm a little busy. Aha! Gotcha!" he pulled out a small bin. "This is perfect!"

"Sprx."

"I saw a warming lamp here somewhere." Sprx muttered, thrusting his head back into the cabinet, "Where was it?"

"Sprx."

"There it is!" Sprx said triumphantly. He pulled out the warming lamp that Gibson sometimes used for his experiments. "All I need now is a rock!" He made a mad dash to his tube, but before he could get there, Antauri grabbed his arm.

"Sprx!" Antauri said sternly, "What is going on?"

"The dragon's shedding." Sprx announced before twisting free of Antauri and racing into his tube. He glided down to the entrance and rushed outside. The ground was covered in rocks, but his hands were full, how was he going to get one? Struck by a bout of inspiration, he crouched down and leaned over to grab one with his teeth. Now secured, he ran back into the robot and back up to his room where Gibson and the dragon were.

"I'mf bahckm!" Sprx mumbled around he rock. He placed his load down and removed the rock. "How is it?"

"Still alright." Gibson answered, sounding completely confused.

"Okay, can you fill this with water? I know you can make it warm." Sprx commanded, "And while you're at it, fill me in on how to handle this thing's shedding."

"Sprx, are you alright?" Gibson asked. "You aren't acting like you have been lately. Where is this coming from?"

"It doesn't matter! Just fill up the bin, and fill me in on what to do." Sprx demanded. "Oh, and when you're done, can you go with Antauri and fly out to Shuggazoom and check in on the citizens?" Sprx asked as he fiddled with the lamp, turning it on and placing it over the dragon. He placed the rock reasonably close to the dragon, barely dodging a snap as he did so.

"Sprx, are you feeling well?" Gibson asked, concern emanating from his voice.

"I'm fine. Why do you keep asking that?" Sprx asked.

"You just told me to fly out to Shuggazoom with Antauri, when I _know_ that you've been wanting to fly for the past two weeks. Why are you not going?" Gibson asked.

"I _was_ going to go," Sprx explained, "Chiro even told me to take you with me. But then this came up."

"But to give up a day of flying for this?" Gibson asked, incredulous.

Sprx felt his pilot's instincts screaming at him, why wasn't he flying? He should be flying. "Don't get me wrong, I really want to go, I've felt trapped here since the dragon arrived, and this was going to be an excuse to get out of the Robot and do some _real_ flying, not some fancy imitation of flying that I have been doing lately with this dragon. But when I think about the dragon, imprisoned in its own body, in pain because its skin is too small for it, it makes my need to fly seem like nothing. And besides, I won't leave it alone while it is suffering."

"Sprx." Gibson breathed, an expression of amazement on his face.

"So, if we're done with that, can you fill up the bin and tell me how to take care of this dragon?" Sprx asked, this was going on far enough already.

"Right." Gibson hurried to fill the bin. "In order to help loosen up her skin, you need to give her a bath in warm water. But when you are done, wrap her up in a towel and place her under the heating lamp, and do not let the rock get too warm, it could burn her. The rock will help her break the old skin and will relieve her itching."

"How long will it last?" Sprx asked.

"It's difficult to say." Gibson responded, pushing the filled water bin over to Sprx. "If she sheds her skin in one piece, like snakes and some lizards do, it will be over in a few hours. But if she sheds in pieces like most lizards do, then it could be a week or two before she's done shedding."

"That long?" Sprx asked in dismay. That seemed ridiculous to him. "Anything else I should know?"

"Yes, I failed to mention that when you remove her from the water, make sure to dry her off with the towel. The heat lamp is to help with the drying off process, not do it completely. And do not pull off her skin, it may look flaky, but it could cause sores and prevent her skin beneath from forming properly." Gibson instructed. "And it would do well to gently spray her with warm water, and never use a heating rock to dry her."

"Will do, Brainstrain." Sprx promised. "Can you watch over it while I get a towel?"

"No need, I'll get one for you." Gibson assured before leaving Sprx's room.

Sprx was now all alone with the dragon. The dragon whined as it rubbed its head against the ground. "Use this." Sprx instructed, nudging the rock closer to it. The dragon growled at Sprx as his hand came close to it, but soon relaxed as Sprx withdrew his hand and it finally noticed the rock. Blinking gratitude at Sprx, it began to rub its head against the rough surface. "Is that better?" Sprx asked, more gently than he intended.

"Here you are, Sprx." Gibson announced as he returned with the towel, as well as a sponge and some soap. "Don't worry, I'll cover for you on the surveillance mission."

"Thanks, Gibson." Sprx replied, taking the supplies from Gibson.

"If you need any assistance, contact me." Gibson instructed.

"Okay." Sprx replied, turning his attention to the dragon. "Sorry about this." He scooped up the dragon as gently as possible. The dragon let out a squeal as it was lifted off of the ground, it started biting Sprx's arm and flailing its claws around. Its squeal deepened into a growl as Sprx carried it over to the bin Gibson filled up. Sprx noticed that Gibson had attached a little device to the bin that would keep the water warm and he wordlessly thanked Gibson, who by this point had already left to go on the surveillance mission. Sprx lowered the dragon into the water and began to gently wash it. The dragon did not seem very happy at this, as it kept thrashing around in the water and biting Sprx's hands. "Calm down!" Sprx snapped, "I'm trying to help you!"

The dragon paid no mind to Sprx's words, only thrashed about more. Sprx began gently rubbing down the dragon's back, mindful of the spines, the dragon's thrashing began to slow, but it still let out a whine of discomfort.

As Sprx cleaned the dragon, he accumulated a new collection of scratches and bite marks in his hands and arms. He scowled as he remembered that he gave up flying for this, and he wondered what had possessed him when he volunteered for this. "There, you're done." Sprx grunted as he pulled the dragon out of the water. The dragon's thrashing became more violent as Sprx let go with one hand to reach for the towel. Barely managing to keep a grip, Sprx dried the dragon off. When the dragon was reasonably dry, Sprx placed it under the warming lamp and draped the towel over it. The dragon fixed its brilliant blue eyes on him in a glare before it began to rub he rock again. "You're welcome." Sprx muttered.

He looked around, water was everywhere. He sighed and went for another towel. When he returned, he found the dragon rubbing the stone more vigorously. Ignoring the dragon for the moment, he cleaned up the water that the dragon and splashed everywhere. When he was done, he was exhausted. This was not one of his better days. As he laid down on his bed, he heard a light whine. He looked up to see the dragon intensely rubbing the rock. He looked a little closer to see that the old skin was beginning to tear. The dragon seemed to sense it too, somehow rubbing even harder at it, trying desperately to escape its old skin.

"Alright, I'll stay up with you." Sprx muttered. He was not likely to fall asleep anyway with the dragon making noises right next to him. He sat on the bed watching the dragon, carefully keeping his distance. This was going to be a long night.

* * *

 **Oh my god. That was, just, wow. I don't think I've ever typed anything so vigorously in my life. I wanted to include a scene with Mandarin, but this was just getting so long, I needed to finish. So sorry HappyFrogLegs and any other Mandarin fans out there. You'll get him next chapter, I promise.**

 **Oh, and, anybody who has a pet lizard, snake, or any other reptile, how did I do with the shedding scene? Was it accurate? Even the overly hostile nature of the dragon? Please tell me if I did something wrong, 'cause I value accuracy when it comes to good storytelling, and I want to know if I can make it better.**

 **So, thanks for reading and please leave a review, I love reviews. Reviews are the best *grins***

 **Till next time.**


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